imperious

UK/ɪmˈpɪə̯.ɹi.əs//ɪmˈpɪɹ.i.əs/

imperious adjective: domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.

Adjective

imperious (not comparable)

Domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.
- The frowning lookes of fiery Tamburlaine,
  That with his terrour and imperious eies,
  Commands the hearts of his aſſociates, […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- […] she glanced about her in an imperious, challenging sort of way, with looks and gestures that clearly were unstudied.1866, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by C. J. Hogarth, The Gambler
Synonyms:

authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, domineering, overbearing
Urgent; intensely compelling.
- Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with that gallant army which had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth.1891, Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
- An old man to whom a few drops of phosphoric ether had been administered experienced repeated and imperious venereal wants.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 202
(obsolete) Imperial or regal.
- All the terrors of Antichrist; his cruel ediets and anathemas that were thundered from his imperious throne, like storms of fire and brimstone […]1789, Ephraim Judson, Ambassadors appointed by Christ to treat with mankind on the subject of reconciliation to God, page 7

தோரணையான, அதிகாரத்துடன், கர்வம் கலந்த கம்பீரத்துடன், அவசரமான, கட்டாயமான, தவிர்க்கமுடியாத

اکڑفوں, حاکمانہ, جارحانہ, مغرور, سفاک

দাম্ভিক, হুকুমদারি মেজাজসম্পন্ন

അഹങ്കാരിയായ, അധികാരപ്രിയനായ, ആജ്ഞാപിക്കുന്ന, ഏകശാസനമായ

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She was quick, beautiful, imperious, while he was quiet, slow, and misty.1899, Stephen Crane, The Angel Child, Whilomville Stories:
Sir, excuse me?” The blonde was calling out to him, in imperious tones that insisted on a reply.2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 4:
He has been imperious since the opening game at Brentford, establishing a formidable partnership with Gabriel.2022 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport:
Back in France, once the fourth republic yielded to the fifth, Gaullist rule proved imperious and sometimes blinkered – but effective.2026 June 22, Tom Clark, “The ungovernable country? Why Britain keeps losing prime ministers”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

From Latin imperiōsus (“mighty, powerful”), from imperium (“command, authority, power”).

What does imperious mean?: Imperious means domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.
What is imperious in Tamil?: Imperious in Tamil is தோரணையான, அதிகாரத்துடன், கர்வம் கலந்த கம்பீரத்துடன். See Imperious meaning in Tamil.
How do you use imperious in a sentence?: She was quick, beautiful, imperious, while he was quiet, slow, and misty.
What part of speech is imperious?: Imperious is an adjective.
How do you pronounce imperious?: Imperious is pronounced /ɪmˈpɪə̯.ɹi.əs/ (UK).

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-imperious.ogg, en-au-imperious.ogg.

Cite this entry: “imperious.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/imperious. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.